By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
Port Isabel finished the regular season as district 16-4A Division 2 Tri-Champs due to a three-way tie with Kingsville and La Feria. Utilizing a point system, Port Isabel Tarpons secured the number-one playoff seed and is set to face off with number-four seed, Ingleside Mustangs.
The Mustangs finished last season with an 11-2 overall record, losing in the third round of the playoffs to eventual State Semifinalist, Wimberley. Although the Mustangs lost their star quarterback [QB], A. Jakobsohn, to graduation, Ingleside still has a productive offense.
The Tarpons will have their hands full with dual-threat QB Sawyer Chalk. A capable thrower, he is 98-of-182 with 1341 yards and 14 touchdowns. His main targets will be Javier Solis III (24 rec., 436 yards) and Jordan Smith (34 rec., 409 yards).
PI’s secondary led by Safety, Anthony Garcia and the Smith twins will have to go stride for stride with the Mustangs receiving corps. The secondary will have to resist letting their receivers free if they see Chalk attempt a run, because Chalk often throws the ball at the last second for big gains.
“Our secondary needs to really step up on coverages,” said Tarpon defensive coordinator, Albert Barberena III on stopping Chalk.
All eyes will be on Chalk as he is the Mustangs’ leading rusher after rushing for 1292 yards on 160 carries with 17 rushing touchdowns and an 8.1 rushing average. Mustangs’ have three running backs with double-digit carries, but Chalk is by far their most dangerous runner.
“We definitely need to contain their QB. He is fast and elusive,” said Barbarena III.
Since their loss to Bro. St. Joseph, the Tarpons rush defense has been much improved and will need to continue to improve. Key players on the Tarpons front seven include Edward Garza (68 tackles), Christopher Gonzalez (27 tackles), Steven Martinez (23 tackles) and sophomores Michael Finona (24 tackles) and hard-hitting Ryan Cinfuegos (44 tackles).
Offensively, the Tarpons’ QB, Bryan Martinez, has been improving his passing skills all-season long, but Port Isabel’s ‘bread-and-butter’ is its run game.
The Tarpons’ offense is based around their running back group and leading the charge is speedster Luis Ramos who has amassed 1121 yards on 129 carries. Dylan Green, who also can break a long run or two, has racked up 687 yards on 107 carries. Other runners to watch out for include Finona and Cinfuegos.
The last time the teams have faced off against each other was back during the 2022 playoffs with the Tarpons winning the game 28-13. Prior to that, Port Isabel won their 2021 regular season meeting 52-14.
Game details to be determined. Other bi-district matchups include Kingsville vs Rockport-Fulton, La Feria vs Cuero and La Grulla vs Sinton.